TWICE BLESSED AT CHRISTMAS AND THEOPHANY

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Today we celebrate the Nativity and Theophany of our Lord Jesus Christ. How fortunate and blessed we are, as Armenians, that we celebrate Christmas with our Western brothers and sisters on December 25 and, following the original tradition of the feast, we also hail the birth of the King of Kings and the Lord of lords on January 6. We are indeed fortunate because collectively we are celebrating the feast of feasts—par excellence—twice.

This brings back fond memories from 1976, when I was in Armenia to work at the Matenadaran (the Institute of Ancient Manuscripts in Yerevan) on my project—the Catalogue of Manuscripts of the Catholicosate of Cilicia. At that time, I enjoyed the warm hospitality of the late Catholicos Vazken I in Holy Etchmiadzin for three months. One day, while celebrating His Holiness’s birthday, I was unexpectedly invited to offer greetings and make a remark on this joyful occasion. As a young priest, I was perplexed to find myself surrounded by lay and religious dignitaries, yet I spontaneously said the following: “How fortunate we are that we have Masis, known as Mount Ararat, symbolizing the gift of God to our nation! How fortunate we are that we have two Apostles who brought the gift of Divine Glad Tidings to Armenia! How fortunate we are that we have two Catholicoi who embrace the joy and sorrow of our nation!”

And now, forty years later, I say we are blessed to celebrate Christmas twice, reaffirming our gratitude and our commitment to carry on the mission of the One who deprived Himself of His glory to renew us from our fallen nature, restoring the glory of the nature created by God in His own image and likeness.

Therefore, let us wholeheartedly say “Tzez yev mez medz Avedis. Krisdos Dznav yev haydnetzav.” (Great news to all of us. Christ is born and revealed.)

May the Almighty Lord and our heavenly Father shower upon us all with His mercy, so that we may be merciful toward all those who are deprived of Divine love and knowledge.

Archbishop Anoushavan  
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